body fat measure...

[zaton]

Hey..
I just want to ask a question from all of you Do you know any method or tool to calculate the body fat % ..?? i wanna calculate body fat of my kids and tell me one thing more how much % is normal..??

 

[IADad]

I don't know about how to do this or what is normal.

I do know that my oldest is too heavy. Our doctor hasn't pushed the issue because he's still under the 100th percentile for his age, but you can see it. So, for us, with him, it was a matter of talking with him about how he feels, what he wants, then helping him change behavior to meet his goals. We are all doing this in our house, so it's a group activity. I think taking things to the extent of body fat analysis may be a bit too much pressure for kids, unless your kids are already fit and you're trying to make them super fit....

 

[cybele]

I've have had mine measured a couple of times by a doctor using calipers, which is called the skinfold method, there is a colourful chart that goes along with it that I didn't understand other than I was on the white bit for under 20 year olds and I am meant to be in the blue bit for my actual age range, but the chart doesn't go that low for my age range.

I have no clue how they get your actual number though other than it involves it a lot of poking and pinching.

 

[akmom]

The best way to do this is to place a scale on a diving board, then suspend a chair on it over a pool. Sit the child in the chair and submerge them completely, lungs empty, to measure their underwater weight.

Use the same scale to measure their ordinary dry weight on land.

You'll need to measure the child's lung capacity to account for residual volume of air in their lungs that they couldn't completely exhale during the underwater weighing. Have them take the biggest breath of air possible and exhale quickly into a bag. Once you calculate the volume of the bag (lung capacity), you can estimate the residual volume to be about 1/3 of that.

Subtract the child's underwater weight from their ordinary weight in kilograms, then divide that number by 1,000 to account for the density of water. Subtract the residual lung volume you calculated and another 100 cc to account for gastrointestinal gases. Dividing their ordinary body weight in kilograms by this number will give you the child's actual body density.

If you take 495 divided by their body density, and subtract another 450, you will get the child's percent body fat. It accounts for the mass of fat (0.9 grams/cc) and lean mass (1.1 grams/cc). Hope that helps.

 

[singledad]

Funny, I've never really cared what my DD's body fat % is. I suppose it might be useful to know if you suspect there might be a problem, but the way I see it, people are way too obsessed with measuring themselves against others. My DD is very active, and consequently she is fit and healthy, and her weight is just below average for her height and age (although her ped. Is the only one why ever weighs her). I honestly don't even want her to think about her weight. I don't think it's healthy for little kids to be too concerned with their appearance...

 

[cybele]

I didn't realise they did it on children to be honest.

 

[akmom]

I'm pretty sure they don't, lol. Our daughter's school offers annual BMI assessments with parental consent, and notifies parents if it's outside the recommended range. But that's strictly height and weight.

In the U.S., childhood obesity is a real problem. When I was a kid, such a question would have seemed ridiculous, and maybe it still does in other countries. But for whatever reason, U.S. kids are now commonly overweight and sometimes obese. I see it at my daughter's school. While I remember a few chubby classmates during all my years of school, I can honestly say almost half of my daughter's peers are. I think it is worth consulting a pediatrician if your child appears to be going in that direction, because it has serious lifelong health implications.

 

[singledad]

Ah, but there is a big difference between determining body fat percentage and BMI assessment. BMI is a simple height and weight measurement, and then calculating whether you are in the normal range, or over or under. Body fat percentage is much more intense, and results in a much more precise number. Usefull if you're a prefessional athlete or a body builder who wants the veigns to show under his skin, but unnecessarily intense for someone who just wants to check if they are at a healthy weight.

A lot would have to change before I would submit my daughter to a body fat percentage assessment. To me, it just sounds like a number that could either convince a perfectky healthy girl that she is fat, or, if its lower that expected, create the impression that it is somethi g to feel superior about.

Sorry, but I'm all about maining a healthy lifestyle, rather than obsessing about numbers, regardless of whether those numbers are kilos (pounds), calories, body fat percentage, whatever. I can see the values of, say, counting calories, when you are trying to establish a healthy diet and need to train your body to get used to it, or if you are working on loosing a large amount of weight, but a lifestyle should not revolve around numbers. That just doesn't sound healthy to me.

PS: Childhood obesity is a big problem here too, but I don't see how informing parents, who already allow their kids to spend their days in front of the TV eating junk, and who already know they have to buy clothes for older children, that their child has a high body fat percentage , will make a difference. And for the kids who have a gennuine problem, it's just another number by which they are measured and found lacking.

 

[cybele]

We're not far behind the US in the childhood obesity ranks.

Personally I'd like to see schools steer away from diagnostics and move more into the whole serving healthy food and offering more physical education classes.

 

[cybele]

As an afterthought, I would also assume that parents who consent to their child having their BMI done and are interested in the result aren't the parents this would be targeting?

I just can't imagine that you know, Sally's parents who don't buy fruits and vegetables and eat a lot of junk food would receive the letter saying "Sally is overweight" and go "Oh wow, that's news to us, time to buy some apples and sign her up for a sport". They would already realise that she is overweight. Those parents for who it would be news for would be the more borderline results, and everyone knows that those are pretty sketchy.

 

[MamaRuthie]

is there a reason why you want to calculate your kids body fat?? usually you can tell whenkids are overweight or underweight

 

[akmom]

I disagree. Parents are in denial about their children's weight. They call it residual baby fat, or a growth spurt, or simply don't notice the changes in someone they see every day. My nephew is obese. He was obviously overweight even in kindergarten, but now he is so large it is almost unbelievable. His mother mentioned the difficulty in finding jeans that fit him, and very bluntly said, "I'm not worried. I know he'll outgrow it." She honestly thinks he will.

Some of the lunches parents pack at my daughter's school are absurd. Just as an example, one packed a healthy sandwich, a drink, some fruit, then five cookies and a whole bag of chips. Really?? It's like they tried, but just don't get it. I think an official assessment might actually make the difference. I truly think some parents don't "see" obesity the way an average person sees it, and do need to have a health worker point it out to them.

 

[IADad]

I disagree. Parents are in denial about their children's weight. They call it residual baby fat, or a growth spurt, or simply don't notice the changes in someone they see every day. My nephew is obese. He was obviously overweight even in kindergarten, but now he is so large it is almost unbelievable. His mother mentioned the difficulty in finding jeans that fit him, and very bluntly said, "I'm not worried. I know he'll outgrow it." She honestly thinks he will.

Some of the lunches parents pack at my daughter's school are absurd. Just as an example, one packed a healthy sandwich, a drink, some fruit, then five cookies and a whole bag of chips. Really?? It's like they tried, but just don't get it. I think an official assessment might actually make the difference. I truly think some parents don't "see" obesity the way an average person sees it, and do need to have a health worker point it out to them.

I agree. Our oldest was a very big baby when he was born, so when he stayed big as an infant and toddler, it seemed no big deal. Now, entering junior high it's becoming a big deal to him and we're behind the curve. We thought he'd outgrow it, or our exercise it, but the thing is he learned his bad eating habits from us.

Now, we're all together, as a family, working on a more positive relationship with our food. Less crab laden junk, more whole foods LOTS more veggies and exercising together. He lost a couple of pounds but slid into secret eating to eat the things he wanted. We're working on him owning this, that he's not hiding it from us, he's kidding himself. I think if we keep working together, and he sees us succeeding he has a chance to as well. I do wish his doctor had made it a concern. I mean he's still under the 100th percentile for weight for his age, but barely and at 80% height, it's not good. But I can't blame them, we knew the truth all along too. Now we're owning it and working it. Wish us luck.

 

[cybele]

Just curious, when do you guys stop using percentiles?

We don't use them past the age of 4 here, maternal and child health nurses use them (we take babies/toddlers for well checks to them, we don't really have general paediatricians) but GPs don't, so once you have your last "key ages and stages" visit at 4 years old, that's the end of that.

 

[IADad]

Just curious, when do you guys stop using percentiles?

We don't use them past the age of 4 here, maternal and child health nurses use them (we take babies/toddlers for well checks to them, we don't really have general paediatricians) but GPs don't, so once you have your last "key ages and stages" visit at 4 years old, that's the end of that.

hmmmmm, not sure. Visualizing his chart it seems like he's getting to the end of it, maybe 12? We have never gone to a pediatrician, just our family GP (General Practitioner.)

 

[akmom]

The "Ages and Stages" our pediatrician uses goes to age 6.

The school nurse uses some kind of modified BMI chart, taking into account children's bodies. We don't actually see the results; we just get a letter if they are concerning. Apparently 40% of the public school kids in our state were considered overweight or obese last year, so they're cracking down on school lunches and P.E. classes. But I don't know; they already offer excellent school lunches, meticulously balanced with low sugar, low salt and low fat content. And how much physical exercise can you offer in a school day? I think kids are missing out on the afterschool exercise they got in past generations. (I know I like to vilify videogames at every opportunity, but I'm thinking that must be a big part. Because when I was a kid, we ate junk food compared to what people eat now, and P.E. was one hour a week, yet we did not have any obesity and only rarely were kids overweight in elementary school.)

 

[cybele]

We had a few overweight kids in school, I remember there was one girl named Patricia who we used to call Fatty Patty.
But then the area I lived in, we did have televisions and VIC20's and other things of that regard.

 

[akmom]

The fact that you remember "Fatty Patty" means she stood out. She wasn't the norm.

We had televisions also, but I don't think it was as engaging as videogames. Kids watched it for awhile, then moved on. Not sure what VIC20s are. We had a few computer games that were educational in nature, and some people had Mario Brothers (an old style videogame), but kids didn't spend so much time on it as they do now.

 

[cybele]

I'm thinking a Vic20 may have been before your time. It's a pretty ancient personal computer that you could play pong on. I was completely hooked on pong.

Now Mario is considered old style? Oh dear, I am a dinosaur. That came out when I was in high school.

I remember Fatty Patty because I was one of the horrible people who picked on her, actually I think I came up with the name, there were a handful of girls who were overweight, by no means the amount we see nowadays, but it wasn't unheard of.